Cod processed in one and a half minutes

Sustainability right down to the last detail, exponential growth, transport with our own lorries and an extensive range of products are just a few of the characteristics of Adri & Zoon, a total fish supplier. To achieve the desired automation, a company just as progressive was found: Jansen Techniek.

What started in 1983 with a local mussel and lobster dealer from Yerseke, has grown into a leading total supplier of all kinds of fish from all over the world barely forty years later. Every week, Adri & Zoon - still based in Yerseke - receives eight trucks with farmed salmon from Norway. The company also processes and sells cod, various frozen fish and seafood from Zeeland and France. "Mussels and lobster from right here on the embankment are also still part of our product range," says Jacco van Burg, Production Manager at the company. On busy days, Adri & Zoon supplies 350 to 400 customers from the Netherlands and surrounding countries with fish. The transport for this is realised with our own trucks. "With the growth in recent years, the demand arose to bring more activities under our own management, including the processing of fish. With that total package and the short lines of communication with suppliers and customers, we distinguish ourselves from our competitors. And our customer-friendliness undoubtedly plays a role as well," smiles Van Burg. 

Technical partner

For a number of years now, Jansen Techniek has been Adri & Zoon's permanent technical partner. This Putten-based company has its roots in the chicken industry, but has also been active in fish processing for some time. "Earlier, they built a small whitefish filleting line and a processing line for salmon," says Van Burg, "It works so much more efficient with a party that knows our company. But above all, they deliver excellent quality work. And just like us, they take our product as their starting point." 

Professionalisation 

Adri & Zoon is continuously professionalising in all areas. For example, the company achieves the highest level of IFS certification every year. Food safety is therefore more than guaranteed. The company also likes to go the extra mile when it comes to sustainability. Van Burg: "Last year we entered into a partnership with Ekofish in Urk. They fish with a new system in which plaice are stunned before they are killed. Furthermore, our recent expansion was carried out according to BREEAM requirements. Also, the Styrofoam boxes in which the fish is delivered are shredded and pressed into blocks. Then it is recycled 100% at another company. So we try to be sustainable at the back end of our business process as well."  

Stricter quotas

Of course, the fish trader also faces challenges. "It is mainly about securing our raw material, especially cod. We used to get them from Norway all year round, but they have increasingly strict quotas. Now, only the winter cod comes from Norway, but there is a demand for it outside of that period as well. To be able to meet that demand, we have relocated to Iceland a few years ago. That is now the source of about 60% of our raw material - in addition to cod, redfish and coalfish. 

More efficient 

Although the internationally oriented fish trade from Iceland is growing rapidly, the processing and delivery methods are still in their infancy. Van Burg explains: "Norway delivers the fish neatly weighed, sorted and headless in styrofoam boxes. From Iceland, we get the fish delivered gross in tubes." Therefore, plans are being made to optimise the supply from Iceland. In the meantime, a new filleting line was set up in Yerseke early this year to cope with the extra work and growth. Jansen Techniek was once again called in to assist. 

'It works so much more efficiently with a party that knows our company'

One and a half minutes

Last summer (2020), the first rough sketches were submitted to Jansen Techniek. After a process of intensive consultation, the line was operational some five months later. Before the fish reaches the conveyor belt, it is automatically weighed and sorted on a line previously built by the Putten company. On the new line, depending on the origin (Iceland or Norway), the head or collar is then removed. After that, the fish is automatically filleted, skinned (if desired) and packed. In the meantime, the hare is manually cut out and checked for worms on illuminated cutting boards. The waste is removed via a vacuum extraction system that is connected to the line. It is used by another company, for products for human consumption. Van Burg is more than satisfied: "The total processing time for an average fish is now one and a half minutes and the fillets look intact. Moreover, our capacity has doubled!

www.jansentechniek.nl
www.adrienzoon.com

Photos: © Deep Kreativ